Ben Davies has told Tottenham Hotspur’s official website that Antonio Conte has been telling him to attack more often.
Tottenham on the attack
Davies has started in both games that Conte has taken charge of so far, on the left-hand side of Tottenham’s back-three.
It is a position where the 28-year-old has played fairly regularly for Wales, but not so often for Spurs.
That being said, Davies has made a rather solid start under Tottenham’s new boss.
He helped to create a goal for Spurs against Vitesse on Thursday and then kept a clean-sheet against Everton yesterday.
Davies actually came fairly close to scoring, when he hit a long-range shot which flew just over the bar.
It was noticeable that Davies was willing to break forward at every opportunity at Goodison Park.
And the £13 million man (London Evening Standard) says that Conte has indeed been encouraging him to attack more often.
“It’s a position I’ve played for the national team quite a lot and I have enjoyed playing there,” he said.
“If you move the ball quickly you can open up spaces to drive into and the manager is encouraging that.
“There’s a long way to go for us to get our patterns and rhythm, but it’s promising signs so far.”
Offensive improvements needed
Those words could well be music to the ears of Tottenham fans.
Under Nuno Spurs had been criticised for being too defensive minded.
Nuno generally wanted his defenders to maintain their shape, and he would never over commit.
However, Conte seems to be more willing to take risks in possession.
That being said, Spurs’s attack still isn’t functioning to the top of their ability.
Tottenham didn’t have a shot on target at Everton, which means that they have now gone two games without even testing an opposition goalkeeper.
That has to be a concern for Conte, and it is likely that Spurs will do plenty of work on their patterns of play going forward over the international break.
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